Sortilegio
by ladyanaconda
Summary: On Marigold's first birthday, Xibalba took her to the Day of the Dead celebration in San Ángel, where she met a little boy who unknowingly would become a part of her life.


When it wasn't Day of the Dead, the cemetery was like the stereotypical horror film graveyard: dark, scary and somber without a single soul seen. There was not a single star on the sky, even the moon seemed to be absent tonight, and there was an air of sorrow that made the place feel even more solemn. The dark cloaked figure that walked around the cemetery felt at home in this dark place.

Since La Muerte died, Xibalba didn't like to hang around San Ángel's cemetery anymore, it was all lonely now that he had no one to talk to. As he made his way through the dark and lonely graves, he started to think on what to do. It would be Marigold's first birthday in a few weeks, and he couldn't help but feel his heart twisting inside his chest. It was the day his daughter was born, but also the day he lost his wife. He didn't want to admit it, but he had been dreading this day deep down.

Xibalba sat down on one of the graves, glancing up at the sky sadly on yearning.

This place had been very special for both him and La Muerte, long before it was the little town it was now, even back when it was a mayan village and the desert around it was a jungle. Now, however, it brought him back memories of her; he wondered how things were going in-he shook his head before he could even think about it.

The air was freezing, but he wasn't cold. No, he was too sad to even mind about the temperature, though it did give him a feeling of nostalgia that cracked his broken heart even more. Sighing, Xibalba searched inside his chest plate and took out a marigold flower tenderly; it was still as fresh as the last time La Muerte wore it, like it had her very presence lingering on it. He swore it even glowed a bit, or maybe he was tired. Xibalba stroked the petals of the flower, making his eyes swell up with tears a bit, but he blinked them away. It didn't take long before he had to look away, unable to bear any more painful memories. The dark god tucked the flower into his chest plate once more before turning into a ball of tar and zooming off to the roof of the church, the place where he and La Muerte had made the wager that brought them back together; he would never forget that night they had chosen their champions and shaken their hands to seal the deal. He could see the young María, Manolo and Joaquín playing down below amongst the decorated graves, he could see his wife next to him watching down at them; but that was only a distant memory, today he was alone in the darkness.

His wings shifted close to his body, finally reacting to the cold darkness of the night. He had yet to think of another birthday present he could give to Marigold, considered he had already given her Rattles. Should he give her another toy? Or a new blanket? What would his wife have given her as a present? After a while, he disappeared in a blur of green fire. He had an idea…

* * *

**Two weeks later**

* * *

Contrasting the eerie darkness that had consumed the cemetery that night, tonight the cemetery boiled with life, color and lights as people celebrated their long-gone ancestors, the smell of candles, freshly-bakes _pan de muerto_ and marigolds overwhelming people's noses. Families were gathered in the corresponding graves praying for their loved ones' souls, mariachi bands played festive and energetic music to cheer things up and children played around the cemetery, though there was a part of the cemetery where the graves were abandoned and sad, completely forgotten.

Marigold watched in wonder all the colors around her from her father's arms, every movement catching her attention, wondering where the music was coming from and what these silly beings were. For some reason, she found them interesting.

"Like it?" Xibalba smiled at her as he held her closer. "It's Day of the Dead. It's… like a hundred birthday parties." In the end he chose to show her the celebration her mother had loved so much as a birthday present.

Marigold gurgled as she wiggled in her father's hold, reaching out for some of the _pan de muerto_ at one of the graves.

"Oh, no, sweetie. You can't grab those, it's not ours." Personally, he didn't have anything against taking offerings from the graves, but today was his little girl's special day. Besides, she had already eaten a big slice of chocolate cake. He kept walking through the cemetery with Marigold in his arms, smiling as she examined her surroundings curiously, letting out coos and gurgles of delight. When he was near the part of the cemetery where the graves were abandoned, he sat down on one of the graves and gently accommodated Marigold in his arms. "Do you like it so far?"

Marigold clapped her hands with a giggle, flapping her little wings.

As he pulled his daughter closer, Xibalba spotted a light amongst the forgotten graves. There was a lonely mortal over there, decorating a grave… Instantly his cruel side resurfaced after a long time of being suppressed in the corners of his mind; when was the last time he had taken the life of a human? A long while. Xibalba stood up and placed Marigold on the grave, patting on her head. "Stay here, mi florecita. Papi's got something to do. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?" Luckily, Marigold was a smart little baby, and she understood what he meant.

Making sure his child wouldn't go anywhere, Xibalba slithered towards the mortal-an elderly man, apparently- with a mischievous, toothy grin spread across his lips. Just one touch was what he needed to claim the life of this human, he was so far from the other people they wouldn't notice until his body started to stink. Xibalba reached out his hand to touch his shoulder…

But when the old man placed a picture on the grave, his grin vanished and his hand stopped in mid-air.

The picture was that of a woman a few years younger than the old man, with white hair and brown eyes, as well much less wrinkles in her face than the man, but even then she seemed so full of life. The man placed a loaf of _pan de muerto_ next to her picture lovingly. "I made it for you, Julia… I hope you'll like it, _querida_."

Xibalba stared down at the old man and the picture with a bewildered expression; suddenly his cruel side started to recede, giving place to his rational side. This man was like him, as much as he didn't like to admit it, he had also lost his wife and was completely alone. The dark god withdrew his hand, and watched at the humbly decorated grave solemnly. Xibalba didn't want to say it, but he felt sympathetic to him. A voice whispered inside his head.

_You gave your word to La Muerte._

He had nearly broken his promise to La Muerte that he would never interfere with the affairs of men ever again. All to sate a darker side of him that he promised her would never resurface again. If she were here, she would have grown both angry and disappointed. He would not take this man's life. Now was not the time, this man still had loose screws to fix before he was ready for death.

Xibalba turned back on his heels and walked back to the grave he had left Marigold. "Sweetie, it's time to-!" When he arrived at the grave, his blood went cold and his heart nearly stopped.

Marigold was gone.

* * *

Her papi had told her to stay where she was, but suddenly she caught the scent of churros. She could never resist that treat, it was her weakness. Marigold crawled away from the grave when her father went a few steps away, following the smell towards one of the graves. There they were, tasty churros on a decorative plate. Marigold sneezed and a small burst of energy surrounded her before dissipating, and she crawled up the edge of the grave to grab unto a churro, but she accidentally dropped the plate and it fell to the ground with a loud crash muffled by the music and voices.

Marigold grabbed one of the churros and started nibbling and suckling on it like it was a feeding bottle. A few seconds later she felt a small shadow over her, and she looked up at him.

A two-and-a-half year old boy was looking down at her curiously, with a big curl on his head and brown eyes.

"Hello there."

The boy had heard a plate crashing to the ground, and temporally walked away from his family to investigate to find an infant girl on the ground near the shattered plate, trying to eat a churro. She had a pale skin, dark curls of hair and green eyes, she wore a light pink floral dress with lavender and yellow little flowers. She looked rather cute, especially when she giggled as she looked up at him.

"Where is your mom, baby?" the boy looked around for her parents, but he didn't find them. Marigold just gurgled and continued to nibble on her churro.

"Juan Carlos!"

The boy looked at the direction of the voices, then back down at the baby. He couldn't leave her here by herself, she could get hurt or worse. The kid named Juan Carlos picked Marigold up and ran back to where his family was. Manolo and María were just done decorating the graves of Carlos and Carmen, and leaving offerings for the other Sánchez ancestors, when Juan Carlos returned carrying Marigold on his back.

"What do you have there, mijo?" Manolo inquired

"I found her in one of the other graves eating churros." Juan Carlos explained, glancing up at Marigold as she fidgeted with his Sánchez curl, gurgling.

"And her parents?" María asked with a bit of worry.

"I don't know, she was by herself."

María took the infant girl form her son temporally and took a look at her to see if she wasn't injured. Marigold giggled and clapped her little hands. María smiled at her. "Aww, you're a cutie!"

"We have to look for her parents, they must be worried about her." Manolo stated. "I'll go ask around to see if anyone lost a baby." As he walked away towards a part of the graveyard, María looked down at her son. "Would you stay here with the baby for a few minutes?" she handed the child over to Juan Carlos. "I'll ask your _tío_ Joaquín if he can help."

Juan Carlos nodded. "Okay." He sat down on the grave as his mother walked away for a moment, leaving him with the baby. Marigold was looking up at him with curious eyes, a beaming smile on her face.

"You're a cutie!" Juan Carlos started tickling her belly, making her giggle and wiggle in his arms. "Yes you are! Yes you are!"

* * *

"MARIGOLD!"

Xibalba flew around the cemetery and through the graves desperately, looking around for his baby like a hawk looking for prey. What if something had happened to her? He was growing desperate, where could she have gone? She couldn't have gone far, she didn't know how to walk yet. Still, he knew her powers were still developing and anything could happen.

"Marigold!" he called out for her, though he was unseen and unheard by the humans.

He heard his daughter's happy laughter coming from one of the graves, and he felt a great relief. As he flew towards the grave he heard the laughter coming from, however, he stopped in his tracks when he realized a young boy was holding her, only about two years older than her. The kid was tickling her belly, and she was giggling, though in the mortal's eyes she was only a human child.

He couldn't just appear in front of the kid to reclaim his baby, and much less in such a crowded place. He needed to somehow drive him into an isolated place. Xibalba snapped his fingers and summoned his staff, then stamped it on the ground to bring Ponzoña to life. The snake heard Marigold's giggling and glanced at her to find her in the arms of a human boy; Ponzoña looked at his master questioningly.

"Scare the heck out of that boy, lead him away from here into an alley or something, just take him where there's no people."

Ponzoña nodded and slid off Xibalba's arm, into the ground just as the dark god turned into a ball of tar and zoomed away.

Juan Carlos was ruffling Marigold's hair when suddenly he heard a hiss at his feet. Looking down, he spotted a purple snake slithering towards him with bare fangs. Marigold recognized Ponzoña and reached out her arms for him, but Juan Carlos felt a wave of terror overcome him-he had never liked snakes-as his feet carried him away from the grave and the snake. Ponzoña immediately slithered after him, making sure he was heading towards town. Since he was not a common snake, he could slither at an abnormal speed for a serpent.

Juan Carlos looked back in terror at the slithering reptile, trying his best not to drop the baby; Marigold thought they were playing tag, and started to giggle and clap her little hands, reaching out for Ponzoña.

"Poña…!"

Were the circumstances different, Ponzoña would have laughed, but he had a task. Juan Carlos ran through the streets of San Ángel, trying to lose the serpent, but it was too fast. All the while Xibalba followed them around through the rooves, glaring at the boy who kidnapped his daughter. "What a speedy little rugrat…" he growled with sharp teeth. "I'll give him that much." With a snap of his fingers, Ponzoña's speed was enhanced, and he was quick to catch up to Juan Carlos, who panicked and tried to run faster while pulling Marigold closer to his little body. Finally, Juan Carlos turned at a corner that led into an alley.

But he found himself trapped, in a dead end.

Juan Carlos froze in fear when he heard the snake behind him, hissing. But his terror intensified when out of sudden, a much larger shadow fell over him; he was so afraid he didn't have the courage to turn around and take a look. Marigold, on the other hand, looked up at the dark creature behind them with bright eyes and she reach out her arms for him.

"Papa."

Juan Carlos blinked. Was it his imagination, or did the baby just call that shadow papa? Gulping, he turned around with his heart in his throat, but before he could take a glimpse at the mysterious figure, he felt something touching his forehead, and everything went black.

Before the boy could see him, Xibalba touched his forehead with a finger, but not to kill him. Marigold floated upwards from Juan Carlos's arms as the boy fell to the ground, unconscious. Xibalba grabbed Marigold and started checking on her for any injuries, before hugging her tightly. "Don't scare me like that again!"

Marigold squirmed in her father's arms, and reached out for Juan Carlos, whimpering. Ponzoña glanced at the boy, then at him.

"What?" Xibalba shrugged. "I may not like humans, but that doesn't mean I would kill a child! He's just unconscious!" He noted Marigold was still holding out her little hands for him. "Don't worry, _mi florecita_. The brat will be okay. Once he wakes up it'll all be like a forgotten dream"

Ponzoña was still looking up at him.

"What?!"

… Now that he thought of it, he couldn't leave the boy lying here. As much as he disliked Manolo Sánchez, he was also a father. Xibalba snapped his fingers, and Juan Carlos disappeared in a swirl of darkness; when she lost sight of the Sánchez curl, Marigold started to cry.

"Shh, don't cry, _bebita_. Everything's okay." Xibalba cooed at his baby and planted a kiss on her head. "Your friend is okay, he's back at the graveyard." After a while, Marigold's cries lowered into sniffles and she snuggle deeply into her father's embrace, yawning.

"You're exhausted, aren't you, sweetie?" the dark god smiled at his daughter and tickled her chin, making her giggle a bit. "Let's go home."

Ponzoña slithered up his master's cloak just as he teleported back to his castle, to his daughter's nursery (he considered she was old enough to have a room of her own, the one next to his). Once there, he went to the changing table and changed Marigold into her pajamas, tickling her nose and playing with her a bit. Marigold yawned once more as her father picked her up and cradled her in his arms, rocking her back and forth.

"Did you like your present?" Xibalba whispered sweetly to her, stroking her cheek.

Marigold sneezed and rested her head against his chest, closing her little eyes. Smiling, Xibalba walked towards her crib and carefully tucked her in, placing Rattles right next to her and covering her with her little blanket; when he was certain she was fast asleep, he bent down by the waist and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"_Feliz cumpleaños, mi niñita hermosa_."

As he left Marigold to sleep, she dreamed with the little boy she was happy to have met in the surface.


End file.
